The construction of hundreds of new homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank (photo, from aljazeera.net) was approved by the Israeli cabinet, a day after five members of a settlement family were murdered. (more…)

In two areas in the occupied West Bank, a mosque and more than 10 other structures have been demolished by Israeli troops, Palestinian sources have said.

The biggest part of the demolition took place on Thursday, in the village of Khirbet Yarza in the northern Jordan Valley. According to local residents troops have razed a very old mosque and its much-larger extension, which was built last year. (map, from aljazeera.net)(more…)

Israel’s plan to rehabilitate religious sites in the occupied West Bank raises concern in the United Nations’ culture and education body, Unesco.

Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said he intended to include the Ibrahimi Mosque, also known as the Cave of the Patriarchs (photo, from aljazeera.net), and several other contentious sites in the West Bank in a $107m heritage investment programme. (more…)

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that several Jewish settlement blocs in the West Bank would always remain part of Israel. His comment upset the Palestinians and undermines US efforts to restart talks aimed at eventually establishing a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu’s remarks came hours after the visit of US envoy George Mitchell who is on a mission to restart negotiations between Israel and Palestinians that have been stalled for over a year. (more…)

In the Gaza Strip, thousands of Palestinians have gathered (photo, from aljazeera.net) in order to mark the 61st anniversary of the “Nakba” (catastrophe). It describes the dispersal of hundreds of thousands of refugees after the creation of Israel. (more…)